because Emma was there. Oddly enough, her reaction made him want to laugh at himself. “And as you’ve probably surmised, I don’t have a clue.”
“And that shouldn’t matter,” Lisa told him smoothly, and gained another point when she tipped her gaze down to Emma’s. “Because it’s her project, right? That’s why the 4-H leader sent you to see me.”
It was.
Suddenly Alex felt a whole lot better. “Yes.”
“Although a garden project this size is beyond the scope of a normal...” Lisa eyed Emma. “Ten-year-old?”
“Yes.” Emma preened, just a little. “I’m kinda small for my age and people always guess wrong.”
“Your eyes shine with ten-year-old wisdom,” Lisa assured her. Once again Emma’s smile blossomed into something Alex had missed for two long years.
“What we need to do is determine the amount of money you want to spend, the shapes of the gardens you’re doing—”
“Redoing,” Alex interrupted. “We bought a house on McCallister Street in February and while the house is in great shape, the previous owners had health problems and the gardens took the brunt of it.”
“The Ramsey place.”
They had started moving down a row of flowering perennials, following Lisa’s lead, but her words stopped Alex’s progress. “How did you know that?”
“Small town.” She shrugged. “And I have friends a few doors down from you. Trent and Alyssa Michaels.”
“Cory is my sister’s friend.” The new connection brightened Emma’s face further. She looked up at Lisa. “Becky and my little brother, Josh, are at their house right now.”
“That’s perfect,” Lisa declared. “Cory and Clay could use some playmates close by. That will keep them out of their big brother Jaden’s hair. So.” She faced Emma again. “Let’s think about what your goals are, now that I know what house we’re doing. Do you like bushes? Flowers? Easy care?”
“Yes.”
Alex’s bullet-quick response to easy care made her laugh.
And when she did a few heads turned their way, as if her joy inspired theirs. Another perk of small-town living, Alex decided.
“Easy care it is. And which sides are shady?”
Emma tapped her notebook. “The house faces north. There’s a big maple tree out front and another one off to the side, so the north and east sides are shady a lot of the time.”
“And the back? That’s a southern exposure, right? Mostly sunny?”
Emma nodded. “It goes back to the creek that flows down to the Genesee River, so there’s already a stone walk and a stone wall before you get to the creek.”
“Which hopefully will help keep Josh out of the creek until he can swim,” Alex added.
“And cost factors?”
Lisa angled her gaze up to Alex again, and her look of honest concern promised to work within the budget he set. He added that to a growing list of things to like about this woman and small towns in general. “I know things are expensive, but it’s important to get it done right. Emma’s pledged her whole summer to this project.” He laid a hand on her head and she tipped a grateful smile up to him.
Her mother’s smile. Beneath his eyes. So pretty, so sweet, too young to be touched by the realities of death at eight years old, but he’d had little choice in that matter. And she was a survivor. An optimist. The ensuing two years had made her more so.
Becky, his younger daughter, tended to take the world on her shoulders, more like him. And four-year-old Joshua just wanted to be loved. And fed. Often, if possible. Total boy.
“Well, you can see how crazy busy we are here today,” Lisa explained.
Alex nodded. “Great for the bottom line, and that’s important in business.”
“It is,” she agreed, but then placed a hand on Emma’s notebook. “I’ll give you ideas today, but if you can come back on a quiet weeknight, we can plan with fewer interruptions. I’m here every night this week. And I should swing by your place to get an idea of how you envision this going.”
“Could we, Dad?”
“Well, I—”
“If time is crazy and today’s better, we can get started now,” Lisa assured him, and something about her willingness to help him, help them, made him more receptive to the idea of coming back. And maybe the pink barrage would be backstaged by some kind of yellow festival. Or purple. Even plain old green would be better than this immersion in bubble-gum-shaded reminders. “Monday afternoon?” He had Monday off so he could grab the girls from school and come straight to the nursery. “Around four?”
“That’s perfect. And if it’s all right with you, I’ll come by your place tomorrow after church. For right now—” A voice over a loudspeaker summoned her to the front desk. Her expression said it had been a common occurrence that day. “And that’s exactly why Monday would be better, because a project like this needs prep time. 4-H leaders look at the planning steps carefully. This is a big project for a ten-year-old.” She winked and smiled down at Emma. “Even a really smart, cute one.”
Emma grabbed Alex’s hand. “Dad will help us.” Her voice and gaze put complete trust in him. No way could he disappoint her on this.
“Considering the size of the Ramsey place, we’ll need you to be fully on board,” Lisa continued. “While this is Emma’s venture, she’ll need some muscle to get the ground cleaned up. And then planted. And I’d love to be her 4-H adviser, but we have to have another adult on-site when we work on kids’ projects in a private setting.”
From a policeman’s point of view, Alex understood the rule, but one look at Lisa’s bright eyes and quick smile assured him his kids were safe around her. But something about the way that smile tugged his heart said his safety might be jeopardized. The awareness surprised him, but felt good. Real good.
Somehow feeling good felt wrong. Mixed emotions vied for internal control. He hadn’t been attracted to another woman in a long time, but right here? Right now?
He was.
“That would be awesome.” Emma’s grateful gaze reflected his sentiment.
Lisa didn’t talk down to Emma. Alex liked that. Emma’s intelligence levels spiked the charts and he and Jenny had learned not to underestimate their firstborn. Odd but nice that this woman recognized Emma’s gift from the beginning, but Alex found that some of his best detectives on the force came by the needed skills naturally. And that gave them a leg up. “Monday would be fine. And thank you, Lisa.”
He stuck out his hand.
She took it. Smiled. Then did the same with Emma. “A pleasure doing business with you, Emma.”
Emma’s smile took Alex back to a time when smiles were a foregone conclusion and not nearly as appreciated as they should have been. “Thank you, Miss Lisa.”
“Just Lisa’s fine.”
Emma’s smile widened, the idea of calling an adult by her first name a thrill. Ah, to be young again.
When I was a child I spoke as a child...
His children had been pushed to grow up too early.
They turned to go, but Alex paused when Lisa called them back. “A quick reminder. Most plants grow quickly with TLC. Kind of like kids. So let’s not overplan, okay? We’ll measure carefully and see where that leads us.”
Emma grinned and waved the notebook. “Dad and I will do that today.”
“Excellent.”
Lisa